Russia - a market in growth

The company NGK entered the Russian market in 1996, running business through NGK Spark Plug Europe GmbH. In 2006 the Russian representative office of NGK Spark Plug Europe GmbH was opened. In the meantime, the company has taken the position of the market leader in the spark plugs segment of the aftermarket, and has also become one of the major players in the region in terms of glow plugs and Lambda sensors.

New affiliateIn July 2013 NGK built up a new sales branch in Moscow as a legal entity in its own right in order to further improve its market position, and to even better serve customers in Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The new Moscow-based subsidiary, which will be steered by the European headquarters, employs 20 people. Moreover, to reduce lead times and to improve product availability, NGK has opened a warehouse in the Moscow region. It keeps more than 2,000 items of spark plugs, plus a large range of other product groups.

Interesting facts:

Russia / the Russian Federation is the country with the world's largest surface area. The surface area is over 17 million km² - divided into European and Asian parts. It extends across twelve time zones. The population is currently around 141 million.

Road traffic is of great importance in the European part of Russia, in particular. About two-thirds of the approximately 540,000 km long road network is paved. Since 2003 there has been a continuous roadway connection from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific. It is worth noting that contrary to the highways and motorways the through roads are normally not constructed very well.

When looking at the numbers of licenses in Russia, there are only 200 vehicles per 1000 inhabitants. By comparison: In Germany the number is about 550. However, it is expected that around 45 million households will be able to afford their own car in a few years.